My former department, the Treasury, usually does the right thing. But (as Winston Churchill probably didn’t say) only after trying everything else first. That’s the bottom line about the package of support the Chancellor announced today. In his February announcement, Rishi Sunak combined gimmicks (an energy bill “discount” that was in fact a loan) with penny-pinching (a £150 million fund for local authorities which will barely scratch the surface of the hardship faced by low-income families). In his March Spring Statement, he tried sleight of hand, reducing National Insurance for some workers while putting it up substantially overall, and describing it as a tax cut.
By contrast, today’s measures do three things the earlier ones did not. First, they are genuinely big enough to make a real difference – an extra £15 billion, or more than £500 per household. Second, they are targeted on the poorest, with about half the money going to the poorest third of the population. And finally, this time there are no gimmicks: the “discount” has been converted into a grant, and there is a direct cash payment to all those in receipt of means-tested benefits – a simple measure that puts money directly in the pockets of those who need it most. Computer (belatedly) says yes.
